Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.31.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CNC. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its position in Centene by 1,190.0% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc acquired a new position in Centene in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Centene by 174.3% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Centene by 75.3% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC opened at $59.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $62.28 and its 200-day moving average is $68.73. The stock has a market cap of $29.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. Centene has a twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month high of $81.42.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children’s health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.